The Navigators - 2001 - 6/10
In the 70’s, I belonged to the UMW (United Mine Workers), small fry in a huge crew.
Come the 80’s, I was still blue collar, high steel, only now the force was 3 or 4, tops.
A Master, a Journeyman, a Helper or two. Often either a Master or a Journeyman and one Helper.
In ten years, the blue collar world had altered dramatically.
By the 90’s the same do-more-with-less downsizing hit Retail jobs.
This bleak Ken Loach film captures that, although it comes across as twenty years late.
The “navigators”, the BritRail workcrew, attend the meeting about privatization.
About competing for customers. Only gradually do they grasp they are competing for hours.
Payroll cuts, less safety, untrained temps. Our future ain’t never what we envisioned.
